This Asian Detergent Commercial is Too Racist for Words!

It’s no secret that prejudice and racism can come from any ethnic group POCs included. Priyanka Chopra recently told Complexthat we need to address Black people’s Asian xenophobia, recounting her own encounters with bullies as a young girl. Chopra’s concern is valid, but it can’t be applied solely as a responsibility on Black people.

POC groups can be and sometimes are prejudiced against other POC groups, so Priyanka needs to hop in line a bit on that. Despite knowing that people are humans and hate is going to happen, it doesn’t make openly gross acts of racism from other POC groups against Black people any less shocking or offensive for Black people.

The prejudice that Asian communities hold against Black people is pretty deeply rooted and frankly quite blatant. It’s often tied to colorism and Asian culture’s obsession with light skin, and this Chinese TV commercial posted by The Root is a perfect example.

A commercial for Qiaobi-brand laundry detergent has been making the rounds on Chinese television. When you first watch you might be impressed with the presence of a Black love interest (or weirded out by the fetishzation of Black men), but when you realize what happens next your blood might boil just a bit.

The Black man has some white paint on him from some housework and the Asian woman seductively calls him over, just when you think things are going to get steamy, she shoves a detergent packet in his mouth and crams him into the washing machine.

Then she sits on top of the machine and files her nails happily while the man’s muffled yells can be heard from the machine. After a few minutes she opens the washing machine and out pops an Asian man who she’s then infatuated with.

Where do we even begin?

No.

Not only does this commercial insinuate that Black people are dirty, but they somehow managed to find a Black person willing to sell his soul for a credit in a detergent commercial. I’m not even sure if Black-face would have been more offensive.

What’s worse about this is that most likely no one on the entire team of people who wrote, filmed, edited, and approved this commercial saw an issue with it, including the Black guy starring in it.

The likelihood of this getting yanked from Chinese television is pretty non-existent, because you have to wonder who would advocate for it? There is definitely a Black population of expats in China, but are they accustomed to seeing these blatant racist moments pop up on their TV screens?

Things like this are reminders that racism in the US is only a drop in the pot, the world has a long way to come.